Leave Out All The Rest
by twdgirls
Summary: A/U Carol Mason moves into a small town where she meets the Dixon brothers, their reputation hasn't reached her ears so she treats them as she would anyone else, once she finds out what comes with their family name Dixon will she look at them the same way? This is a Caryl and Meth story so if you don't approve of these ships then this story isn't for you Rated M for future chapters
1. It Starts With One

Leave Out All The Rest

**A/N: Hey everyone! Tara here, this is my first shot at writing an A/U story, I'll give you the ages so it makes more sense**

**Merle:20  
Daryl:18  
Carol:18  
Beth:17**

**I really hope you like this story, yes it is going to be Meth and Caryl so if you don't approve of these ships then don't read, and any reviews would be awesome, ok I shall stop now so enjoy the fic **

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Wind. Wind was all Daryl felt as he flew down the road on his motorbike, his older brother in tow. It was times like these that he felt free, relaxed, normal. He looked over at Merle who wore the same expression as he did, he smirked at his brother and continued on towards the diner.

They pulled up and parked their bikes, they strolled towards the door in their black leather riding gear, Merle had his Savage Sons MC club jacket on and Daryl sported his angel wing vest. Everyone in the diner looked up as the bell from the door chimed announcing the brothers entrance, they got a few disgusted looks and the rest looked half scared to death, the Dixon name was well known in this town for all the wrong reasons.

"Well hey there boys, how are you doing today?" Jenny walked up to them and leaned to the side resting her hands on her hips, at least she didn't judge the brothers on their name. "Alrigh' Jenny, doin' good" Merle replied, Daryl was usually quiet during these sort of exchanges. "Nice to hear" she flashed them both a smile "so whatcha boys want? The usual?" Merle smirked at the woman and nodded as she jotted their order down in her notepad "be back in a bit with your drinks" she left to take other orders leaving the brothers sitting at the counter. "So darylina, how's being on that bike feel?" Merle laughed internally at his nickname for his younger brother  
"Amazing, can't believe i had to wait sixteen damn years of my life until i could finally ride one" Merle smirked at Daryl's reply "so how's things with Beth?" he saw Merle's grin widen at the thought of his woman.  
"Things are going just fine with that one baby brotha, taking her out tomorra for her birthday"  
"She's good for ya"  
"Ya got that right, been clean for months now"  
Daryl just nodded and they sat in silence for a little bit, he could feel people's eyes burning holes into his back.

Merle looked over at his brother who was chewing his thumbnail and looked slightly pissed off, but he knew the exact reason why. He was about to calm him down when he turned around. "Oi you want a fucking picture?!" The group of business men staring at his younger brother jumped at Daryl's sudden outburst, their guilty faces dropped back down to their food, Daryl just huffed and turned back around.  
"Ah fuck em baby brotha, just some rich bastards thinkin their better than everyone" Merle said it loud enough so the group could hear, he glanced over his shoulder, smirked and flipped them off before returning to his drink. "So how much longer till ya finish school for the summer?"  
"Four more weeks i guess" Daryl replied "not that i care anyway, the longer I'm at that hell hole, the longer I'm away from the bastard back home" Merle sighed at that, here they were the most feared guys in the town and yet they cower in the shadow of their daddy, however he does cast a pretty big shadow at 6'3 and he has a larger build than them not to mention he has the strength and temper of a bull on steroids, so as strong as the brothers were, they would never compare to their old man.

The moving truck pulled up to the new house, Carol wasn't too thrilled about moving so close to the end of the school year, she just wanted to stay back in Alexandria and finish school with her friends but no, her Dad had to get transferred meaning they had to move right away. But at least it meant they had a lot of left over money from the move, to be honest they could've bought three of these cabin houses, so at least there was a plus side to the whole situation, she scolded herself for sounding so snobby, the house they had chosen in a rush wasn't all to bad, it was one of few and it was hidden away in the woods along with two other houses, she had to admit the setting was beautiful, her backdoor leads straight out into the woods, the perfect place to just go and practice her art work.

She and one of the movers began to take her belongings to her room, the house only had two bedrooms but that meant that they were both rather large, she smiled at her blank walls, she could make this work, she could plaster all of her art pieces on the walls and even paint directly on them, it was like her very own giant canvas.

After a hard day's work Carol, her mother Maria and her father Luke had made the house their own and moved all of Maria's contemporary furniture in bringing a modern feel to the home. They all collapsed down on the sofa, it was only six in the evening but it felt like it could've been eleven since they were so tired.

"Well i best head down to the shops to get something for dinner, Carol are you okay with bringing in the last few boxes" Maria smiled at her daughter who nodded in response, the family separated, she waved her parents off as she went to the last boxes outside.

The roar of motorcycles interrupted her picking up the next box, it must be her neighbours. She watched her new neighbours fly down the dirt road and pull up in front of their house, as they dismounted their bikes she thought she might as well introduce herself.

They did have a certain look about them, the larger man was definitely part of some gang so she did approach them with slight caution but made sure it wasn't noticeable, they were leaning against their bikes chatting whilst the younger one lit up a cigarette.

Merle looked passed Daryl, a young girl about his brother's age was walking towards them, 'oh yeah, new people moved in', she looked like she came from a rich neighbourhood but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt since she was actually coming over to talk to them. He tapped his brother on the shoulder "what?" Merle pointed at the girl and Daryl turned around.

Daryl's breath caught in his throat, his brother gestured for him to turn around and he had to say he really wasn't expecting that. A beautiful girl, with curly auburn hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing nothing but some shorts and a vest was standing right before him and his brother, she obviously was new since people like her never came over to talk to Dixon's.

She drew in a breath and just went for it "hiya, my names Carol, my parents and I just moved in down the road, it's nice to meet you" she gave them a smile and extended her hand to the younger one first.

Jesus that smile had him frozen, she definitely didn't know who they were if she was here being all nice and introducing herself. And here she stood her hand extended and he was standing there like a moron.

'Fuck sake daryl' Merle thought to himself as he took the girls hand and shook it. "Back at ya darlin' im Merle and this here is my brotha Daryl" she smiled at them both  
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Merle, you too Daryl" Daryl finally sorted himself out and gave her a nod in acknowledgement "Well i best get back to moving the last few boxes I have lying around, i guess i'll see you two around"  
"Ya need a hand?" Daryl finally spoke up  
"What with the boxes?" Daryl nodded in confirmation "Well if your not to busy that would be great, but only if your free, i don't wanna pressure you" she replied  
"We ain't busy" Merle was surprised his brother even spoke but he nodded and Carol, with another heart melting smile, led the boys to the front of her house where the last boxes were sitting.

"If you two wouldn't mind getting those larger ones over there that would be great, I'll sort out the rest" she instructed them as she grabbed one of the smaller boxes, the brothers picked up the first box and carried it inside "just set it down wherever there is space, thanks so much for the help"

They finished bringing in all the boxes so Carol invited the brothers in and gave them each a drink of water since her mum was still at the shops. She sat across from them and decided to engage them in a conversation "so how long have you lived here?"  
"'Bout eight years i guess" Merle replied  
"Wow, so i guess you know this town pretty well" the brothers nodded "do either of you go to the local school here?" She figured she might as well ask  
"Darylina here does, how old are ya darlin'?"  
"Seventeen" 'shit' Daryl thought to himself, he didn't know why he was so worried about her going to the same school as him, she'll probably hear loads of stories about his family and stay the hell away from him like everyone else does, maybe that's why he was worried, she was one of the only people besides beth and her family who treated them like they were just normal.  
"Well well, looks like you'll be in some classes together then" Merle smirked at Carol  
"At least there will be one friendly face in there then" she smiled at Daryl who was chewing his thumbnail nervously.

The sound if a car pulling up had them all jumping up from their seats "my parents must be home, i'll introduce you" she said with another smile.  
"Carol how the hell did you get those big box..." Luke questioned his daughter as he opened the door but he paused when he looked up.  
"I had some help from the neighbours, Merle and Daryl these are my parents Luke and Maria Mason"  
"Nice to meet y'all" Merle spoke for both the brothers, Luke extended his hand  
"Well boys thanks for helping Carol move everything, would you like to stay for dinner, Maria makes a good shepherds pie" Carol's father offered after shaking each boys hand.  
"Cheers for the offer but we best be headin' back, see ya around" Merle and Daryl left the Mason household and returned to their own.

After dinner, Carol helped her mum wash up the dishes and clean the kitchen "So honey, those boys were really cute, especially the younger one" Maria winked at her daughter who through soap suds at her, they both started laughing. Carol continued to think of Daryl for the rest of the evening, her mum definitely wasn't wrong when she said that he was cute, she looked forward to seeing him at school on Monday.

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**A/N: So that's that, first chapter is finished. If you want this story to continue then leave a review or like this story and I shall deliver one as soon as possible. Thanks for reading**


	2. All These Thoughts They Make No Sense

**Leave Out All The Rest**

**All these thoughts they make no sense**

**A/N: Hey everyone! I just wanted to say thanks so much for your support so far, it's only been a day and I already have a few reviews and a ton of followers and favourites, thank you all so much! You asked and I delivered, here is the next chapter! I know some of these chapters are going to drag a little bit since they're really just fillers until I get to one of the many dramatic plots I have planned, I hope you all stick around long enough to read them. Anyway on with the story! I hope you enjoy it, and please review with your thoughts, it's what keeps me going!**

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Merle continued to flick through the tv channels, there was never anything on on a Sunday, he sat on the sofa with Beth resting in his lap, Daryl sitting in the beaten up old arm chair his father normally vacates. "Oh yeah i meant to ask, how's the new neighbours?" Beth sat up from Merle's lap so she could look at both brothers. Ever since Merle and Beth started seeing each other Merle has been off drugs and less pissy, and Beth was like the sister Daryl never had, it was a small sort of family but it was good enough to him. "Nice enough, helped the girl move some of the moving boxes and her parents invited us to stay for dinner but we decided to head back instead" Beth look at Daryl as he replied to her, she could see the blush creeping up his cheeks and she smirked at him, he looked right back at her "the fuck are ya smirking at?"  
"You like her!" Beth deadpanned, Daryl's face went into total shock and Merle had to try to stifle his laugh. Daryl tried to right himself,  
"I dunno what the fuck your talking about Beth!"  
"The new girl next door, you like her!" She turned her gaze onto Merle knowing she'd get the truth out of him "Is she pretty?"  
"Hell yeah! But honestly i prefer 'em blonde darlin'" he winked at her "Darylina here though, he was practically drooling, and he wouldn't even shake the girl's goddamn hand. All i can say is thank god he's got me otherwise his dumbass would be lost by now"  
"Aw Daryl that's so sweet"  
"Aw fuck the both of ya, i'm going hunting!" He grabbed his crossbow and stormed out the back door.

Damn he needed some air, why did Beth have to go and fuck with his head, sure he thought Carol was one of the most beautiful girls he's ever seen, sure he scolded himself for standing there like a retard when she was talking to them and sure he was annoyed that his last name was gonna cost him talking to her ever again... 'Fuck! Damn it Beth' he continued to storm into the woods, the smell of the trees and the ground instantly soothing him, he felt the crease in his brow smooth over as the frustration subsided, all there was in the world was him and the hunt.

He needed to stop thinking about her, he barely knows her, in fact he doesn't even know her at all, 'suck it up Dixon, stop being such a pussy'. He didn't even realise he was pacing, he brought himself to a stop, raised his bow and focused on finding dinner.

He steps were completely silent as he walked along the forest floor, every move was carefully placed so he missed each twig and anything else that could signal his presence. He bent down to look for tracks in the mud, he smirked as he stood back up, the Dixon's were gonna eat good tonight. He continued his silent descent onto his new found target, he knew he was getting closer.

An hour had passed since he first located the deer's tracks, by the looks of it, it was a huge buck. He never got bored during tracking, the whole thing fuelled him with adrenaline that could keep him going for hours. As he came into a clearing his target came into clear sight, it was just standing there, completely mesmerised by something, this was his chance. He lifted the sight of his cross bow so it was level with his eye, his finger was itching over the trigger waiting for that perfect moment. And then there is was, that perfect moment had presented itself, but just as he was about to let his bolt fly, a noise from the tree next to him startled the animal and sent it off in a dead run. "Fuck!" Daryl cursed as he aimed the bow at the tree that carried the noise  
"Daryl Daryl it's me don't shoot" there she was, sitting in a tree staring right at him  
"Carol?" she look genuinely scared, now he felt like and even bigger dumbass than he did yesterday. He lowered his weapon  
"I ain't gonna shoot ya, the fuck ya doin' out here?"  
"I was just drawing, I'm sorry, i dropped my pencil, i really didn't mean to chase that deer off" normally he would work up a cussing storm but he knew he couldn't be an asshole to her, not after he's looked into her eyes and not after she's been so nice to him  
"Ain't that big a deal, need some help getting down?" She nodded, he strapped his crossbow onto his back and caught her as she jumped down, his hands placed firmly on her hips, her eyes caught his and although he tried his best he couldn't look away 'fucking wake up Dixon' he suddenly looked down, dropped his hands and cleared his throat, "i... Uh... I was gonna head back, you can come if ya want since you probably don't know these woods too well and uh... Yeah" she smiled at his shy offer, he really was cute  
"I'd like that" she smiled at him, he nodded and just started walking.

He was extremely thankful that she wasn't trying to make conversation, she was obviously smart enough to realise he wasn't much of a talker. They were about five minutes away from the house when she finally spoke "so your a hunter?" He nodded in response "why'd you do it?"  
"Not for fun if that's watcha thinkin'"  
"No no i didn't mean anything bad by it... I uh... Never mind... Sorry" he sighed, he really was being a jackass today  
"Ya gotta stop apologisin' girl, especially when ya done nothin' wrong" she just nodded and they went the rest of the journey in silence.

The finally got to the backdoor "i best warn ya now, my brotha's got his girl over so don't be too surprised if we walk in on anythin'" she gave him a small laugh and nodded. He braved opening the door "Merle, i'm comin' in, don't make me regret it" he pushed the door open further and let Carol walk in first. He shut the door behind them and scanned the house, he couldn't see his brother anywhere but Beth was sitting on the sofa pretending to watch tv "Beth everythin' alright?" She turned around and looked at him  
"One of the Savage sons members called, said they needed Merle right away and that he was gonna be with them for at least a week" he could tell she's been crying  
"Shit..." Daryl suddenly remembered that he'd just brought in a guest "oh uh Beth this is Carol, one of the new neighbours" Beth looked around Daryl and wiped her cheeks and put on a smile  
"Oh god sorry about that, it's lovely to meet you Carol"  
"Nice to meet you too Beth" Carol smiled at the girl "so you're going out with Merle?" She laughed and nodded. Daryl walked over to the kitchen and let the two girls chat, "y'all want anythin'?" He called over at the pair, they both shook their heads and continued their conversation, he searched the inside of the fridge for anything to eat but it was completely empty, just his luck.

"So Carol how old are you?" Beth really enjoyed talking to Carol, she was down to earth and a good laugh  
"Seventeen, what about you?"  
"Same here" she smiled at her new found friend  
"If you don't mind me asking how old is Merle? Cause he sure doesn't look to be in high school" Beth laughed  
"No definitely not, Merle's nineteen but we've been together for a couple of years now" Carol nodded, genuinely impressed, Merle looked to be the type of guy who would sleep around a bit but he seemed to be settling down with Beth. She felt bad for criticising Merle before she really knew anything about him, Carol's thoughts were interrupted by a phone ringing "sorry it's my dad, i better take this... High daddy" Beth walked outside to talk to her father.

Beth returned a few minutes later, "i have to get going, it was great meeting you Carol" she came over and hugged her "see you Daryl" she gave him a wave since she knew he wasn't too keen about physical contact. The door shut leaving the house in a new and uncomfortable silence, which was a first for Daryl since he usually thrives in silence. "Hey Daryl" he looked over at the gorgeous girl sitting on his sofa "yeah?" He cringed at how blunt he sounded  
"I uh was wondering if uh... I feel really bad about chasing away that deer and everything and was wondering if you wanted to come for dinner at my house?" She rushed her question but at least she got it out in the end. He gave her a small smile which she replied with a large one of her own  
"I dunno, i dont wanna intrude"  
"Honestly you wouldn't be, my mom always makes way too much food anyway"  
"I have a feeling you ain't gonna quit 'till i say yeah so i guess i ain't got much choice" he smirked at her as she jumped off the battered sofa and made her way to the door, she held it open  
"After you Mr... Wait what is your last name?" She asked with a but of a laugh at her failed joke  
"Dixon" he replied without thinking 'shit... She must know who we are now' she looked completely unfazed by his answer which relieved him a little bit, he really needed to stop focusing on what she thought of him, no one else's opinion matters so why should hers?

After a short, silent walk the arrived at Carol's front door, she knocked and they stood in silence again waiting for someone to answer the door, Maria finally appeared "hi mom, is it okay if Daryl has dinner with us? Merle and his parents aren't in at the moment"  
"Of course, nice to see you again Daryl"  
"Mrs Mason"  
"Oh none of that, call me Maria" Daryl just nodded and sat down at the table next to Carol.

Daryl rarely spoke throughout the dinner but observed the family well, they were genuinely good people. He got asked a few questions which he answered as high spiritedly as he could, he was surprised to admit he had a good time, the food was amazing, Maria and Luke were nice people and he got to spend some more time with Carol, he didn't know why he was so drawn to her but he just is and in the two days that he's known her he's really enjoyed spending time with her. "Thanks for the dinner Maria, it was great, but I best be headin' back. It was nice seein' y'all again" Carol escorted him to the door  
"I'll see your at school tomorrow Daryl" she informed him with a beautiful smile  
"Uh yeah, see you tomorrow" with that he disappeared down the porch steps and began to walk back to his house.

He had a smile on his face the whole way home, that was until he opened the front door, "Hello son"  
"shit…"

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**A/N: ooh cliff hanger just because I'm evil enough to leave chapters like that. Don't forget to review and enjoy the rest of you day/evening. Caryl and Meth on!**


	3. Sins Of Our Tongues

**A/N: Hey everyone, I've decided that I'm going to update at least once a week, unless I'm really getting into the story then I will post one or two extra chapters, I also wanted to say thank you all so much for your amazing support so far, this is only a three chapter story now and the feedback for it is more than I got for my Andrea and Merle fanfic which was over 15 chapters. So thanks so so so much for all the reviews, follows and favourites, the mean the world to me! Okay on with the story…**

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Sins of our tongues

"Morning sweety" Maria said as she opened the door to Carol's bedroom, Carol's eyes immediately opened as the smell of freshly cooked waffles filled her nose, she looked over to her mother who was carrying a tray which had waffles coated in sugar and a cup of coffee on it. Carol smiled  
"Morning" she finally replied whilst rubbing the sleep from her eyes, her mother deposited the tray on her bedside table and sat on the edge of her daughters bed  
"First day of your new school, you nervous?" Her mother questioned  
"Yeah, kinda... I guess, well at least i have Daryl and Beth" she smiled at the thought of her two new friends, she's only been here for three says and already people were welcoming her, she couldn't be more glad the, what was it again, oh the Dixon's were living next door to her, they were nice and funny people. She had yet to meet Daryl and Merle's parents but she was sure that they were just as nice and welcoming as the sons they raised.

"BOY GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE BEFORE I COME AND GET YA MYSELF" it was seven in the morning and yet Buck Dixon was already smashed and his son was getting the brunt of it, Daryl grabbed his pathetic excuse for a school bag and ran the best he could for the stairs, when he reached the bottom his so called 'dad' was staring at him from his stupid armchair, admiring his handy work. Daryl glared at the bastard before storming through the front door "OI I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" The asshole yelled through the now shut door, probably alerting all the neighbours, he just kept on walking, he didn't give a fuck about what people thought about him, well except maybe Carol... 'Fuck!' He thought to himself.

Carol had thrown on a pair of light blue, skin tight jeans and an old, vintage band tshirt, she grabbed her aztec printed, fashion back pack and bid farewell to her parents, "bye mom, see you later daddy" she hugged them both  
"Bye honey, are you sure you don't want me to drive you?" Her mother offered  
"Nah, it's a lovely day so i might as well make the most of it" she smiled at parents and walked towards the door when she heard yelling  
"OI I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" Carol stopped in her tracks, what the hell was that? She opened the door and walked out to see Daryl storming down the dirt path road that lead up to their houses  
"Daryl!"

He stopped in his tracks to search for the person calling his name, it was Carol, 'great' he thought to himself sarcastically, he was pissed of and wanted to be alone so he could get his head straight before he walked into the hell hole know as high school, and now he really wanted to be alone cause knowing his luck his is gonna act like an asshole and send her running, well there was nothing he could do about it now so he waited for her as she jogged to catch up to him "Hey" she said, a little out of breath, he nodded in response and continued to walk, she fell into step with him, however she did notice the slight limp he had "i heard shouting coming from your house, everything alright?" He scowled at that  
"Fine" he replied bluntly, she just brushed off the harshness in his tone and continued to walk by him in silence, they finally reached the school and she came to a halt "the fuck ya doin' come on"  
"I'm nervous" she said as she looked down at her shoes, and he now felt like an asshole again  
"Don't be, your gonna be fine" he didn't really know what else to say but she took in what he said and walked in there with her head held high, he felt a sense of pride in that and smirked at her, who thought he would be walking into school next to a beautiful girl like her.  
"I have to go talk to the principal, but i'll see you around" she smiled at him "thanks for letting me walk with you" he just nodded at her and then they went their separate ways, this was so backwards, if anything he should be thanking her for letting him walk with her. Well today was the moment of truth, it was inevitable that she would find out all about the Dixon name, 'it was fun while it lasted' he thought to himself as he went inside for registration.

She left the principals office with her timetable in hand and a map of the school, she looked down at her timetable to find that she had science with Dr. Porter first in room 42, she used her map to guide her to her lesson, she walked in and couldn't help but feel a little self conscious as all eyes landed on her, the teacher pulled her to the front of the class "everyone this is Carol, she's new here and i expect all of you to be nice and treat her as you would your friends" she blushed due to her nerves and looked down at the floor "there's a spare seat next to Mr. Dixon" he pointed in Daryl's direction, a couple boys in school baseball jacket began to whisper and laugh but she brushed it off and followed Dr. Porter's instructions and took a seat next to Daryl, she couldn't explain how relieved she was that she could sit next to him and not some stranger. She smiled at him as she sat down "okay class, come a grab text book between two and read over pages 34 and 35 whilst i do the register" everyone did as asked, Carol went to get up so she could get a book for herself and Daryl but he just put his arm out and went to get it himself, she would look at that as a kind gesture.

They did as asked an read through the text book pages whilst Dr. Porter called out everyone's name "louise... Phillip... Mikaela... Daryl... Abraham..." he continued leaving a gap between each name so the person could respond. After he was finished he started blurting out more instructions, when he turned away from the whiteboard he looked straight at Daryl who was looking down at the textbook "excuse me Mr. Dixon" Daryl looked up at him  
"What?" The teacher ignored his tone  
"Can you take the hat off?" It was a rhetorical question, but Daryl chose to answer back anyway  
"No" he said bluntly  
"What did you say?" All eyes were on Daryl  
"You heard me"  
"Dixon take the hat of now before i send you to the principals office" Daryl actually had to think about it before he finally took his hat off, a lot of people gasped as he did so, the teacher at least had the good sense to look a little guilty as he continued on with the lesson. Carol tapped him on the shoulder, when he finally turned around her breath caught in her throat, his left eye and cheekbone was bruised something awful and he had a cut above his eye brow which had dried over leaving a gruesome looking scab in its wake.  
"Daryl what happened?" He looked at her

"Hello son"  
"Shit..." He whispered under his breath, he could smell the alcohol radiating off his 'father'. "Why you back so earlier, thought you and jesse were outta town for the week?"  
"Soundin' like your not too happy to see me boy" Buck began to laugh, but really it was true, he could not be more disappointed in the fact the Buck Dixon was standing right in front of him "Where's your brother?" His tone became serious  
"Tweaker called him, said the MC needed him for a week"  
"And you let his sorry ass go!?"  
"I wasn't even fucking here Buck!"  
"Where the hell were you?"  
"I was out hunting..." 'Shit' he shouldn't have said that  
"Oh okay then, so where are your finds boy, oh no wait the fucking cupboards are empty! Waste your worthless, pathetic, sorry excuse for a life in school instead of providing then you fuck up the one thing you have to do!"  
"Yeah well maybe the house would have some damn food if ya didn't keep taking all the money to get smashed and high with ya asshole friends!" Buck glared at him now, he was really gonna get it this time  
"The fuck did ya say?" Buck questioned his son as he undid his belt, Daryl knew it was coming and could only hope that the asshole would loose interest sooner rather than later. Buck stood in front of his son, towering over him, he raised his right fist and brought it down on Daryl's face a few times, and every time he would end up on the floor from the impact. That was definitely gonna leave a mark, he got hauled up off the ground and spun around so he was facing away from his remaining parent, he felt the back of his shirt go up and a second later, the sting off the brown leather belt that cut and broke his skin many times before, he cried out in pain but that only earned him another hit and then another, it continued for a while but not as long as usual, after Buck let him loose he feel straight to the ground, all of the energy zapped from him and now it was replaced with a searing pain that burnt into his back as if he were on fire.

"Nothin'" he dismissed her and set about doing the work set.  
"Is doesn't look like-"  
"I said it's nothing! So drop it" she bowed her head and did her work

Carol got through her next lesson, which happened to be english, alone. Since she was new so no one felt the need to socialise with her, however she did notice that one of the jocks kept eyeing her but she pushed it aside thinking it was just because she was new.

Period two signalled math for Daryl, he took his seat at the back of the class with two of the people he considered friends. "Shit, man did one of the sports teams get to you?" Glenn questioned due to his friends face injuries, Daryl chuckled dryly at the guess,  
"Nah, and don't worry 'bout it" his friends had spent enough time with him now that they know not to push him when he came in injured, it made everyone's lives easier to keep the young hunter from getting angry.  
"Dixon, Rhee, Grimes, stop talking" the trio rolled their eyes at their stubborn and incredibly boring Maths teacher as he continued to dish out orders to the class. Maths was secretly one of Daryl's favourite subjects, he was extremely good at it and he took pride in that since everyone thought he was thick as shit.  
"Ugh this is fucking gibberish" Rick cursed "i mean seriously when am i gonna need to know algebra when i'm a cop, this sucks" Daryl and Glenn laughed at their friend but were interrupted by their teacher  
"For the last time stop talking!" Glenn and Rick jumped at the teachers sudden outburst, Daryl just smirked. "Something funny Dixon?"  
"Nah nothin'" his facial expression never changed  
"Then wipe that smirk off your face and do some work!" Daryl just nodded and tried to stifle a laugh. The group continued to do their work, Rick often nudged Daryl and asked for his help, not that Daryl minded, he felt quite honoured that he was chosen to help his friend over Glenn who was meant to be an A+ student but he would never admit it. The bell signalled the end of the second lesson so the three men grabbed their stuff and gladly left the classroom. They went to join their friends around the back of the school gym, but before they could get there Daryl ran into some girl sending her falling backwards onto the concrete  
"You wanna watch- ah shit sorry Carol" he grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her up "you alright?"  
"Yeah thanks, i'm sorry i didn't mean to run into you"  
"Don't worry 'bout it" they looked at each other before Rick and Glenn cleared their throats, Daryl blushed a little "oh yeah, Rick, Glenn this is the new girl Carol" she shook both their hands and smiled at them  
"Hey Carol, If you don't have anything else planned you wanna come meet everyone else?" Glenn offered, she nodded her head  
"I would love to" and with that the friends led Carol to their designated spot so she could meet everyone

'Wow everyone is so nice' Carol thought to herself, she was introduced to the guys first, she met: Abraham, T-Dog, Bob and Tyreese. Then she was moved over to the girls who were just as lovely and welcoming, they were made up of: Tara and her sister Lily, Beth and her sister Maggie and Tyreese's sister Sasha. She found it funny how most of them were related but she found it nice to see siblings that stick together instead of fighting all the time. "It's great to see you again Carol" Beth said to her  
"You two know each other?" Maggie questioned  
"Yeah, she came round when i was at Daryl and Merle's, she's their new neighbour" Beth informed everyone, Daryl went tense as most of the eyes fell onto him  
"Oh seems like Dixon finally pulled"  
"Ah fuck you Abraham"  
"Yeah, leave them alone" Beth said defensively  
"I was only kidding you two, by the way i saw your face in science man what happened?" Abraham questioned  
"Ain't nothing" most of the group grew a look of concern  
"Daryl are you sure tha-" Tara knew she was dreading on dangerous ground by asking  
"I done told ya that it's nothin', i'm fine alright!" No one said anything else after that as Daryl took a seat next to T-Dog, everyone went back to talking, Carol was so surprised that this amazing group of people welcomed her so quickly, maybe this new school wouldn't be so bad, she was sucked into conversation by the Chambler sisters and Bob. However the bell rung signalling the end of their break which went far too quickly for the groups liking.  
"Hey Carol what do you have next?" Maggie asked  
"P.E"  
"Awesome your with all of us" Sasha smiled which Carol mimicked. Her new friends led her towards her next lesson

* * *

**A/N: Hey again! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm sorry if this and the next few chapters are a bit plot-less but there is some excitement coming at some point so hang on tight! Btw I would like to apologise now for my constant use of dialogue, I seem to have an addiction to adding way too much of it into my stories. I guess I kinda think of things more like a tv show in my head than I do a book but aw well, as long as you people don't mind I'll just keep writing like I have been, thanks for reading so far and if you would leave a review it would mean the world to me!**

**Btw if you have been reading since i first posted this story, i changed the ages around a bit so if you want to check them out they are on the first chapter.**

**One last thing… I was wondering if any of you have noticed what I'm doing with the chapter titles, if you have then message me or leave your answer in a review.**


	4. Blackout

**Blackout**

**A/N: Bonjour! Ok so I wanted to start by saying sorry for such a long wait, I'm having a mild writers block but I pushed through it and wrote this chapter whilst on holiday. I'm really sorry for the wait and I'll try and deliver one more chapter this week. And thanks soooooooooo much for the amazing reviews! It really means a lot! Oh and also I thought I'd throw in some info about the story, basically it's set in this day and age so all the technology will be from now and as will the music (really this is just an excuse to throw some of my favourite bands in... ;) ). Also bravo to the guest reviewer who correctly answered my question from last chapter. Yes all the chapter titles are and are going to be Linkin park lyrics because why not! Linkin park are awesome! Plus their lyrics fit in so well with the story. One last thing, if you have any ideas on what I should write for future chapters or about the direction you think this story should go then please feel free to message me! Any comments or critique are welcome! Ok that's enough from me, enjoy the story :)**

Carol's first P.E lesson had been great, her new friends had taught her most of the in's and out's of what to do during their double lesson, like where to get changed and who to avoid etc. everything went well and she actually won the volleyball game for her team who never usually win, this resulted in her being lifted up by Abraham and Tyreese, it was her first day and yet she felt like she'd been there for years. Well that was until lunch came around.

Ed Peletier had been eyeing Carol all day, the populars rarely looked in on the new kids but Carol's beauty had caught Ed's attention and now he wanted her for himself, he knew exactly what he needed to do. He nudged Phillip to get his attention "what?"  
"You know the new girl? Ed questioned  
"Yeah..."  
"I need you to get Andrea and the others to make her one of us, she seems to be taking a liking to Dixon and his friends and we can't let that happen, she belongs with us not with that dirty, pathetic redneck" Phillip smirked and nodded  
"Sure thing, the girls will be excited to have a new project" he winked at Ed and set off to find his girlfriend Andrea.

Carol left her new found friends to drop some stuff off at her locker, she pulled out the piece of paper that had her locker code scribbled onto it and unlocked it, just as she was putting her belongings into her locker a group of five girls walked up to her, they were dressed in really short skirts and high waisted shorts, tight vests and tshirts, designer shoes and perfect hair. Carol swallowed a lump in her throat, this was the group of 'populars' that Beth and the others warned her about 'shit' she thought to herself, the leader of the girls stopped before Carol "you're the new girl right?" She nodded slightly  
"I'm Andrea, head cheerleader, I'm sure you've heard of me" Andrea said with a smirk on her face making her look as if she thought she owned the world. Carol lied and shook her head, she tried her hardest to stifle a laugh at the look that overcame Andrea's face. She cleared her throat and continued "well anyway, we want you to sit with us at lunch" the statement left little room for argument but Carol tried anyway  
"I sorta alr-"  
Andrea chuckled "No darling it wasn't a question, come on" the five girls walked towards the canteen, Carol just followed.

When these girls entered the canteen, it's like the world stopped, Carol just rolled her eyes and continued to follow them 'this should be interesting' Carol thought to herself. As she walked to the queue she saw her real friends looking at her like she was on drugs, she mouthed 'I'll tell you later' and followed the populars, they took a seat next to what looked like the football team but turned out to be the Wildcats athletics team. Andrea went over and straddled one guys lap and began to make out with him, the rest of the girls took a seat, once Andrea was finished she introduced the rest of the girls to her. Amy was Andrea's fraternal sister, she was then introduced to Lori a beautiful brunette, next was a gorgeous African American girl called Michonne, her and Andrea seemed to be best friends and then there was a radiant Spanish girl, Rosita. She then had to greet the guys sitting with them, this was: Phillip, who by the looks of it is Andrea's boyfriend, Randall, Negan who's the captain of the athletics team, Martinez, Gareth, Shane and this big guy Ed who kept looking her up and down, she blushed and took her seat. The girls looked at Carol then exchanged a few whispers, Andrea then spoke up "Okay, well today is you lucky day. We really don't do this often but we want you to be one of us" all the girls smiled at Carol, 'what the fuck is going on?' She really didn't understand what was happening, why her? What made her so special?

"The hell's goin' on?" Daryl asked as he joined the others, the whole group were truly confused, the populars never even looked at the new kids let alone ask them to sit at their table, they were all smiling at Carol and waiting for her to answer something.

"Well you don't have to decide now but there is a party at my place tonight and your coming" Andrea informed her  
"But I don't even know where you live and my car needs some repairs" Carol countered  
"Oh yeah, well I know" she waved that Ed guy over "Ed you'll take Carol to my place tonight, right?"  
"Sure thing, pick ya up at eight" he winked at Carol causing another blush to creep up to her cheeks, she never received any attention from guys before so this was all new to her  
"Great it's a date then" Andrea stated "see you tonight Carol"  
"Uh... Okay" Carol then got up to find Daryl and the others.

"What was that all about?" lily asked once Carol finally joined them  
"They came up to me when I was at my locker and told me to sit with them, so I did then they asked me to 'become one of them' whatever that means and then I got invited to Andrea's party tonight and one of the guys from the football team, Ed, he's taking me" everyone looked at Carol, this really was something, their new friend had been recruited by the swag fags. "What? Why are you all staring at me?"  
Maggie cleared her throat "Oh uh no reason, listen Carol we don't mind if you do wanna go with them-"  
"Woah slow down, what makes you think I want to be one of them? I've only know you guys for a couple of hours, Daryl and Beth a bit longer but I can already tell where I belong, and it's definitely not with some uppity group of girls who think they own the place"  
Glenn smiled at her "well I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we're glad your sticking around" he winked and the rest of the group nodded, Carol blushed and took a seat next to Daryl.

"Dixon getcha ass over here!" Tweaker called over at Merle, Tweaker was the MC's dealer, ever since Merle got together with Beth he'd been staying away from him but now he had no choice, he's been refusing everything that Tweaker's offered him but it's only a matter of time before the whole club starts on him, calling him a pussy and every other insult they can come up with  
"What'd ya want?" Merle responded  
"Joe needs to talk to ya!" Merle grunted and got up off the sofa, he crossed the hall that the club used as their wreck room and went to find joe in one of the back rooms.  
"Wassup boss?" He looked over to the man zipping whiskey in his black leather office chair. Joe looked like your typical redneck trash crossed with a wanna be cowboy.  
"Ah Dixon, I need ya to do some dirty work for me"  
"It's my specialty ain't it?" Joe chuckled at Merle's response  
"I need you to teach this guy a lesson, he's messed us around too many times" Merle breathed out and rubbed his face with his hands in stress, Joe had that murderous look in his eyes, this definitely wasn't going to be good  
"What kinda... lesson exactly?"  
"I need you to eliminate his family, wife and kids, then wait for him to come home and off him too, destroy his life" Merle shook his head, he couldn't do that. The Savage Sons had gotten way out of hand lately, they weren't like the other MC's who killed to protect their 'brothers', no, if someone just looked at Joe funny he'd give them a death sentence, Merle could safely say he wanted out.  
"Listen Joe, I could deal with the guy for ya but I ain't touchin' the women and I sure as hell ain't harmin' any kids" he really couldn't do that, he couldn't inflict pain on a woman and her kids just like his father did, he couldn't stoup that low. Joe chuckled again  
"It wasn't a request Dixon... It was an order"  
"Joe I've known you forever but I really can't do this, I'm not my dad... cantcha get Len or someone else to do it?" Joe finally stood up, he glared at Merle  
"Dixon I'm gonna tell ya one more time, your gonna go to that asshole's house and ruin his life" he couldn't believe he was about to do this  
"...No"  
Joe relaxed his posture "fine" he strode over to the door and lightly knocked on it twice, three of the Savage Sons members entered and stood beside Joe.  
"Do you remember that pledge you made to this MC saying you'd follow all orders without fail?" Merle nodded "well since you can't follow a simple order I guess that makes you a liar, and you know what we do to liars Merle" Merle growled at the man, Joe clicked his fingers and the three members went for Merle, he dodged the first one, then he hit the second on the nose a throat, but the third one came up behind him and sent Merle to the floor, then they started kicking him continuously  
"Ugh... Fuck..." Merle coughed out, they didn't stop, they just kept going until he stopped struggling, even the great Merle Dixon had to give up at some point.

Daryl had to admit he was slightly pissed, a bastard like Ed Peletier shouldn't even be breathing the same air as a girl like Carol, let alone be going on a date with her. 'Why the fuck d'ya care baby brotha?' He could hear Merle's taunting, but he was right, why did he care? He had no claim on Carol, not to mention he's only known her for a few days. He brushed it off and carried on with eating his ridiculously small lunch.

Glenn, Daryl and Carol all had the same lesson at the end of the day which was computer science, one of Carol's favourite subjects. She never really knew why but she just always enjoyed using computers, it seemed to be a useful skill for the future. Glenn was typing away as if he'd been doing it his entire life, they were writing some code to create a game, Carol had to say she was surprised that Daryl was extremely good at the subject too, he never bothered the teacher to ask questions, he just simply got on and did it, pretty quick might she add. She glanced down to the digital clock in the bottom corner of the screen, five minutes left of her first day, she made it! Looking across the room she saw the 'Swag fags' as her friends called them. Amy was flirting with the pretty good looking computing teacher, his strawberry blonde hair was spiked up, he wore a white long sleeved shirt which was slightly see through meaning you could see the tattoos on his arms, grey suit trousers and a skinny black tie. And despite her best efforts, Mr. MacManus wasn't biting, it must be a regular thing since he looked bored and annoyed. Carol laughed, there was no way she could be one of them, she just physically wasn't like them at all, they walked around radiating confidence when Carol walked around avoiding attention and making herself as small as possible, they wear clothes that hug their figures and reveal their cleavage whereas Carol felt comfort in a pair of jeans and a cotton tshirt, they swoon over Justin Bieber, Union J and One Direction, she enjoyed music like Ben Howard, Wye Oak and even Twenty One Pilots. They were complete opposites and she refused to pretend to be someone she's not.

The trio walked out of their lesson joking and laughing, her first day had been a success and she had to say she looked forward to coming back tomorrow so she could see all of her friends again. Beth and Maggie were waiting for them outside, Glenn left his classmates to hug and kiss his girlfriend, Beth strode over to Daryl "Please can I come back to yours? My parents are out today and god knows what those two are gonna be up to, walls are only so thick" she sounded distressed, Daryl and Carol looked at eachother trying to stifle a laugh but failing slightly, Beth scowled at them and waited for an answer. 'Fuck' of course he would always let her come round, Beth was good company even when Merle wasn't there, she was like his sister and they had a laugh, but Buck was home, there was no way in hell he's let that bastard near her. Beth knew a bit about Buck through Merle but she didn't know what he was like towards the youngest Dixon  
"Uh… Beth can't today, Buck's back…" his eyes were downcast when he said it, damn 18yr old kid's afraid of his old man, his entire frame went ridged as he spoke of his father and Beth understood straight away and nodded, she gave him a look offering an apology. Carol stood there throughout the exchange, she was definitely missing something, but whoever this Buck was obviously a sensitive subject so she decided to change the mood.  
"You two can come to mine if you like?" Carol offered, both of them looked up at her  
"Really? You sure Carol?" Beth questioned, she didn't want to feel like a burden. Carol nodded enthusiastically, motioning for them to walk with her. Daryl shrugged his shoulders and fell in step with the two girls, earning quite a few looks from other students, Carol didn't falter as she started to talk to her two friends about this and everything, she even coaxed a laugh out of Daryl which again earned them a few looks but his laugh made Carol's smile brighter, she didn't know what it was but she enjoyed the rarity that was Daryl's laugh and she made a mental note to make sure she made him laugh more often.

"I'm damn glad my bike's at the shop otherwise that would've got us even more looks" Daryl chuckled at the image of the three of them piling onto his bike, the girls laughed with him as they turned down the side road. That lead to Carol and Daryl's house's. Daryl tensed as they walked passed his house, as they entered Carol's home he released a breath he didn't know he was holding. The two guests were greeted by Carol's mother Maria  
"It's lovely to see you again Daryl" Maria smiled at the boy who blushed slightly and nodded in acknowledgement "and who do we have here?" Carol's mother motioned towards Beth  
"Beth Greene ma'am, it's nice to meet ya" she extended her hand to Maria who shook it and smiled at the young blonde,  
"We'll be upstairs mama" Carol smiled at her mother who nodded at her and smiled, the trio took off upstairs towards Carol's room.

Carol opened the door and motioned for them to enter before her, her room was completely spotless and white, white walls, white wardrobes, white bedframe, it was clean without feeling cold, white fairy lights were weaved through her headboard giving the room a warm glow "It's not much but I'm gonna paint on the walls to add a bit of colour" Carol beamed at the thought of her plans to decorate.  
"That's an amazing idea Carol" Beth span around admiring Carol's room "hey, you know what? we should do some now" Beth offered excitedly, Carol nodded and knelt down so she could reach under her bed, this gave Daryl the perfect view of her ass, he looked away and cursed under his breath, he needed to stop this shit. She returned with a professional looking set of paint brushes and paints, her face was beaming, she spread a white sheet out on the floor in front of one of the walls and handed them a brush each, Daryl didn't seem to be all that interested but she didn't expect as much, it was funny watching a guy as rugged looking as Daryl standing in Carol's pristine and girlish room. "Okay Carol, so what's the plan?" Carol didn't really know what to do on this wall and she didn't wanna stand for hours concentrating whilst she had guests, an idea popped into her head and she smiled at them both  
"Let's just throw paint at it, see what happens" she shrugged and the other two smirked, this was something Daryl could get into. They each choose one of the seven colours on the floor and flung the colours onto the blank canvas, Carol turned around and put on some music, Blink-182 came on and they just stood there enjoying the company, Beth and Carol caught each other's eyes and smirked, they had an idea. They both grabbed two large paint brushes and dipped them in pink and purple, they turned towards Daryl and lobbed the light colours towards him  
"Mother of fuck! Seriously!" he glared at them and their faces grew a look of worry, god women were so easily nervous, he rolled his eyes and smirked at them "Your fucking dead!" he returned their gesture soaking the girls in blue. They went about being stupid and decorating the wall for another hour, by the time they had finished it looked like a Dulux shop had thrown up on her wall, and even though it wasn't perfect Carol loved it, it would be a permanent reminder of her first day at school with her friends and to her that made it perfect. Not only that but she had her first date coming up soon, according to her watch which had paint drops all over it, she had two hours to get ready before Ed turned up. Daryl and Beth decided to leave and give Carol time to get ready, as they came down the stairs Maria took in the three of them  
"What on earth happened to you lot?" Maria questioned with a smile  
"We were decorating my wall and we… We got a bit carried away" Carol replied with a chuckle, Maria shook her head smirking at the three of them as Carol escorted her friends to the door "I had a great time you guys, thanks so much for looking out for me today and introducing me to everyone, believe it or not I'm actually looking forward to going to school" Carol chuckled again, they said their goodbyes.

Daryl offered to walk Beth home to which she accepted. The two of them turned the corner leaving the dirt road and Carol's house behind them, they really were a sight, they looked like a damn pony threw up on them, Daryl laughed at the thought, Beth looked up at him and smiled, he really did like Beth, she was nice and she just understood him, she never pushed him into conversation or into social activities, she just went along with him and never complained, it still baffled him how Merle had talked her into going out with him two years ago. They were about half way to the Greene farm when Daryl's Nokia brick phone went off in his pocket, he pulled it out and checked the caller id  
"Is it Merle?" she could hear the hope in her voice and he had to say he was really hoping it was his brother too, he hadn't heard from him in a while, he looked down and the phone and frowned  
"Nah sorry, just some random number, best not be a prank or I'm gonna be pissed" he joked trying to lighten the girls mood, she gave him a sad smile as he lifted the phone up to his ear carefully trying not to get too much paint onto it.

"_Daryl Dixon?" _a woman asked_  
"Yeah, that's me"  
"I'm Jenna calling from South Georgia Medical Centre, this call is regarding your brother, Merle." _

**A/N: Mwahaha this was an evil chapter, I left you on another cliff hanger and I brought Ed into the picture! But I have to say it was heart breaking writing Merle's scene, from the minute I saw them in the show I hated Joe's group. By the way I'm bringing A LOT of the shows characters into this story, and a few of the comic's but only the ones that I've heard of since I haven't gotten around to reading them yet :(. It seemed kinda weird to select some of the girls to be the populars in this story since I'm pretty fond of all the shows characters, but I got a few things figured out so hopefully it should all fall into place. And all though this is a mainly Caryl and Meth fic I will through a few chapters in to do with the different characters like Glenn and Maggie, Andrea and Phillip, Lori and Shane etc. I hope you don't mind, I know a lot of you read so you can see some Caryl and Meth action but I am definitely gonna make Caryl a slow burner and I thought it'd be really interesting to see the story from the other character's point of view. If you have any ideas of how I should do this story feel free to message me. Please leave a review, it's what keeps me writing!**


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